Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

During school hours, my 16 yr old stepdaughter and a boy (same age) were caught having intercourse inside the school. Both the principal and a police officer (who has an office at the school) told us that my stepdaughter (and the boy) would most likely be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, and that a detective would call us. It has now been over two weeks since the incident, we have gotten no calls whatsoever from a detective. We've spoken to the police officer at the school several times since this incident, he keeps telling us that he filed the paperwork and we just need to wait. We understand about delays concerning backlogged cases, but is this a normal procedure, to wait over an extended period of time for a detective to call and decide when they are going to charge her? We were of the understanding that if someone is caught committing a crime, they are immediately apprehended and charged, and not made to wait. Thank You for your time.


Asked on 2/01/10, 12:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Tuthill Law Office of Robert H. Tuthill

Not necessarily. While people are normally charged with a crime rather quickly, it can take a while. In theory, the State has as long as the statute of limitations to file criminal charges on someone. In the case of a class A misdemeanor, this would be 2 years.

So in your case, they may file charges, or they may not. The Detective involved may have concluded there were no valid charges to file.

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Answered on 2/10/10, 2:39 pm


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